1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a headgear frame for an embroidering machine adapted to be used for hold a headgear when the cap portion of the headgear is to be embroidered by an embroidering machine.
2. Description of Related Art
FIGS. 11 and 12 show a well-known headgear 61. This headgear 61 is provided with a cap portion 62 to be put on a head and a visor 66 stitched to the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62. To an open edge portion of the cap portion 62, there are stitched a mesh portion 63 arranged on the back side of the front portion 65 and a ring-shaped sweatband portion 64 arranged on the inner side of the cap portion 62.
The cap portion 62 is formed by stitching a plurality of (e.g., six) cloth sheets 67 having generally triangular shapes. In the stitched portion 71 of each cloth sheet 67, there is arranged a margin to stitch of each cloth sheet 67 on the inner side of the cap portion 62. Moreover, each margin to stitch is covered with a cloth band 68 which is arranged on the inner side of the cap portion 62 along the stitched portion 71. Thus, this stitched portion 71 is made thicker than the remaining portions of the cap portion 62.
In the headgear 61, as indicated by double-dotted lines in FIG. 12, the mesh portion 63 and the sweatband portion 64 are extracted from the inner side of the cap portion 62. As indicated by solid lines in FIGS. 11 and 12, the leading end side 63a of the mesh portion 63 is folded back to envelop the sweatband portion 64. In this state, the headgear 61 is mounted on the headgear frame. An embroidery range 69 is provided in the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62, for example, as indicated by the double-dotted lines at the cap portion 62 in FIG. 11.
As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a headgear frame 81 of the prior art for embroidering the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62 of the headgear 61 is provided with a receiving frame 82 adapted to be inserted into the inner side of the cap portion 62 for receiving the peripheral portion 70 of the embroidery range 69 of the front portion 65, and a holding band 83 made of an elastic metal sheet and wound around the cap portion 62 for holding the peripheral portion 70 between itself and the receiving frame 82. The holding band 83 is provided with a pair of band members 84 and 85 for holding the upper and lower peripheral portions 70a and 70b in the headgear height direction of the embroidery range 69 all over the headgear peripheral direction, and a pair of joint portions 88 for holding the peripheral portions 70c and 70c. The band member 84 on the top side and the joint portions 88 are provided with a slip preventing rubber member 86 on the face opposed to the receiving frame 82. Thus in the headgear frame 81 of the prior art, the holding band 83 holds the peripheral portion 70 of the embroidery range 69 exclusively.
The headgear frame 81 supports, where it is attached to a drive unit 101 for driving itself, the embroidery range 69 just above a needle plate 105 in a bed 102 of the machine. By the cooperations among the headgear frame 81 driven by the drive unit 101, a needle 104 carried vertically movably by a machine head 103 and a rotating hook built in the bed 102, moreover, an embroidered pattern is formed in the embroidery range 69.
In the upper face of the receiving frame 82, there are formed a first aperture 89 for arranging the embroidery range 69 and a second aperture 90 for releasing the margins to stitch in the stitched portions of the cap portion 62, the visor 66, the mesh portion 63 and the sweatband portion 64.
In a headgear frame 91 of the prior art for embroidering the generally entire periphery of the cap portion 62 of the headgear 61, as shown in FIG. 15, the upper side and the lower side of the visor 66 are individually held on a receiving frame 92 by a holding band 93 having a pair of upper and lower band members 94 and 95. The band member 94 for holding the upper side of the visor 66 is provided along the edge portion of the band member 94 on the visor side with a positioning member 96 for biting into a stitched portion 77 between the cap portion 62 and the visor 66. Here, the shown headgear 61 is not provided with the mesh portion 63.
However, the headgear frames 81 and 91 of the prior art are encountered by the following problems (1) to (5).
(1) To the stitched portion 77 between the cap portion 62 and the visor 66, there are additionally stitched the mesh portion 63 and the sweatband portion 64. On the inner side of the cap portion 62 in the stitched portion 77, there are concentrated the margins to stitch of the cap portion 62, the. visor 66, the mesh portion 63 and the sweatband portion 64. When the headgear 61 having the mesh portion 63 and the sweatband portion 64 folded back is to be mounted on the headgear frame 81 of the prior art for embroidering the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62, moreover, the folded-back cloth and the aforementioned margins to stitch ride on the upper face of the root end of the receiving frame 82, as shown in FIG. 14. Therefore, the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62 on the side of the visor considerably floats from the needle plate 105. This float is different according to the structure of the stitched portion 77 and the kind/thickness of the cloth of the individual portions composing the headgear 61 but is exemplified by about 3 to 7 mm. If the visor side of the front portion 65 is held and fastened by the band member 85 made of a flat sheet (which may include the rubber member), the holding is made due to the step from the upper face of the receiving frame 82 receiving the mesh portion 63 and the sweatband portion 64 such that the band member 85 drops oppositely of the visor side from the stitched portion 77 between the front portion 65 and the visor 66, as indicated by arrows (of double-dotted lines) in FIG. 14. This drop is prominently found at the stitched portion 77 between the cap portion 62 and the visor 66 at the center of the front portion 65. Especially at the center of the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62, therefore, there arises a problem that the portion near the visor 66 is difficult to embroider. In the vicinity of the boundary between the cap portion 62 and the visor 66 of the headgear 61, for example, the embroidered pattern extending in parallel with that boundary has to be formed by shifting its entirety to the top side by considering the aforementioned drop of the band member 85.
In the headgear frame 91 of the prior art for embroidering the substantially entire periphery of the cap portion 62, on the other hand, the positioning member 96 bites into the stitched portion 77 between the cap portion 62 and the visor 66 to hold the stitched portion 77 but not the cloth of the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62. Where the cap portion 62, the visor 66, the mesh portion 63 or the sweatband portion 64 is made of thick cloth (especially, a baseball cap), as shown in FIG. 15, the cloth largely floats at the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62 on the side of the visor 66 so that it flaps while being embroidered, to raise a problem that the embroidery quality drops.
(2) As described in (1), the visor side of the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62 largely floats with respect to the needle plate 105. In the headgear 61 having the large float, the band member 85 on the visor side largely floats from the upper face of the receiving frame 82 so that the band member 84 on the top side, as formed integrally with the band member 85 on the visor side, also floats from the upper face of the receiving frame 82 to raise a problem that the holding of the cap portion 62 by the band member 84 on the top side is weakened.
(3) In the cap portion 62, as shown in FIG. 16, the stitched portion 71 is made thicker than the remaining portion of the cap portion 62 by the margin to stitch of the cloth 67 and the cloth band 68 covering the margin. If the headgear 61 having the stitched portion 71 of the cap portion 62 in the embroidery range (i.e., at the center of the front portion 65 in the headgear example shown in FIGS. 11 and 12) is mounted on the headgear frame 81, the stitched portion 71 bulges from the remaining portions in the embroidery range to raise a problem that the embroidery quality in the stitched portion 71 is degraded.
(4) When the headgear 61 is mounted on the headgear frame 81 of the prior art, as shown in FIG. 17, the visor 66 rises generally vertically from the surface of the front portion 65 of the cap portion 62. When the vicinity of the visor side of the front portion 65 is to be embroidered, therefore, the portion at the back of the needle 104 of the machine head 103 interferes with the visor 66, as indicated by double-dotted lines in FIG. 17. Therefore, it is necessary to incline the visor 66 forcibly away from the embroidery range 69. Thus, there arises a problem that it is necessary to add a device for holding the visor 66 in an inclined position and an operation of that device for mounting the headgear 61. As the case may be, moreover, when the visor 66 is to be forcibly inclined, the mounted position of the headgear 61 on the headgear frame 81 may be shifted to mount the headgear 61 again.
(5) As described in (1), when the headgear 61 in the state of FIGS. 11 and 12 is mounted on the headgear frame 81 of the prior art, the visor side of the front portion 65 is raised away from the upper face of the receiving frame 82, as indicated by the double-dotted lines in FIG. 14. With the visor side floating from the upper face of the receiving frame 82, therefore, the headgear 61 may be mounted on the headgear frame 81. In this case, the cloth of the front portion 65 flaps during the embroidery to raise a problem that the embroidery quality drops.
A first object of the invention is to provide a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, which can solve the above-specified problems, can prevent the embroidery range of the cap portion of the headgear from becoming narrow and can reduce the float of the cloth on the visor side of the cap portion.
A second object of the invention is to provide a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, which can solve the above-specified problems and can hold the upper and lower peripheral portions of the embroidery range in the headgear height direction substantially homogeneously.
A third object of the invention is to provide a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, which can solve the above-specified problems and can improve the quality of embroidery at the stitched portion in the embroidery range.
A fourth object of the invention is to provide a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, which can solve the above-specified problems and can incline the visor of the headgear easily in the direction away from the embroidery range.
A fifth object of the invention is to provide a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, which can solve the above-specified problems and can reduce the float of a cloth at the front portion of the cap portion of the headgear on the visor side.
In order to achieve the first object, according to the invention, there is provided a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, comprising: a receiving frame inserted into the cap portion of a headgear having a visor for receiving the peripheral portion of the embroidery range of said cap portion; and a holding band wound around said cap portion for holding said peripheral portion between itself and said receiving frame and including a band member for holding the peripheral portion of said embroidery range on the visor side over the headgear peripheral direction, wherein said band member is provided at its edge portion on the visor side with a positioning member for biting into a stitched portion between said cap portion and said visor, and at its edge portion on the side opposed to said visor side with a holding member for holding the peripheral portion of said embroidery range on the visor side over the headgear peripheral direction.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said positioning member is formed to bite into said stitched portion at least on the front central side of said cap portion.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said positioning member is so formed over the substantial entirety of the peripheral portion of said embroidery range on the visor side as to bite into said stitched portion.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said holding member has a larger protrusion than that of said positioning member. The difference in the protrusion length between the positioning member and the holding member is not limited to any specific one but is preferably about 1 mm or more and more preferably about 2 mm or more.
The spacing between the positioning member and the holding member is not limited to any specific one but can be exemplified by about 3 to 10 mm and preferably about 5 mm. By adjusting this spacing, there is adjusted the spacing between the position of the stitched portion and the held position of the holding member. This spacing is preferred to be suitably set according to the kind/thickness of the cloth of the headgear and the structure of the stitched portion.
In order to achieve the second object, according to the invention, there is provided a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, comprising: a receiving frame inserted into the cap portion of a headgear for receiving the peripheral portion of the embroidery range of said cap portion; and a holding band wound around said cap portion for holding said peripheral portion between itself and said receiving frame and including a pair of band members for holding the upper and lower peripheral portions of said embroidery range individually in the headgear height direction, wherein the upper band member in said headgear height direction is made shorter than the other band member.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein the relative lengths of said two band members are made adjustable. It is also possible to exemplify a mode wherein the relative spacing of said two band members is made adjustable.
In order to achieve the third object, according to the invention, there is provided a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, comprising: a receiving frame inserted into the cap portion of a headgear having a thicker stitched portion in an embroidery range than the remaining portions for receiving the peripheral portion of the embroidery range of said cap portion; and a holding band wound around said cap portion for holding said peripheral portion between itself and said receiving frame, wherein said receiving frame is provided in its upper face with a recess for releasing the excess thickness in said stitched portion than the remaining portions.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said receiving frame is provided on its upper face with a non-slip member for preventing the cap portion from going out of position, and wherein said recess is formed by arranging not said non-slip member in the portion of said recess.
It is also possible to exemplify a mode wherein said receiving frame is provided on its upper face with a non-slip member for preventing the cap portion from going out of position, and wherein said recess is formed in the upper face of said non-slip member.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said holding band is provided with a second recess at a position corresponding to said recess, in the face confronting the upper face of said receiving frame.
In order to achieve the fourth object, according to the invention, there is provided a headgear frame for an embroidering machine, comprising: a receiving frame inserted into the cap portion of a headgear having a visor for receiving the peripheral portion of the embroidery range of said cap portion; and a holding band wound around said cap portion for holding said peripheral portion between itself and said receiving frame, wherein said holding band holds said peripheral portion and either the two side portions of the visor of said headgear or the cap portion in the vicinity of the root sides of said two side portions so that said two side portions may come closer to each other.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said holding band is provided with a holding portion for holding either said two side portions or the cap portion in the vicinities of the root sides of said two side portions.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said holding band is provided with a positioning member for positioning either the vicinities of said root sides or the cap portion in the vicinities of said root sides.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said receiving frame is provided with a recess or an opening in the upper face at positions corresponding to the root sides of the two side portions of said visor.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said receiving frame is so constructed as to adjust the size of said recess or said opening.
In order to achieve the fifth object, according to the invention, there is provided a headgear frame for an embroidering machine adapted to be used for holding a headgear in which a mesh portion arranged on the back side of the front portion of a cap portion and a ring-shaped sweatband portion arranged on the inner side of said cap portion are stitched on the open edge portion of said cap portion, and comprising: a receiving frame inserted into the cap portion of a headgear having a visor for receiving the peripheral portion of the embroidery range of said cap portion; and a holding band wound around said cap portion for holding said peripheral portion between itself and said receiving frame, wherein said receiving frame is provided with a recess or opening for releasing said mesh portion and said sweatband portion, as extracted from said cap portion so that they may be removed from said embroidery range.
It is possible to exemplify a mode wherein said recess or said opening is made adjustable in size.
Further objects of this invention will become evident upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments described below. Various advantages not specifically referred to herein but within the scope of the instant invention will occur to one skilled in the art upon practice of the presently disclosed invention. The following examples and embodiments are illustrative and not seen to limit the scope of the invention.